


Walking on Moonlight

by obscurio



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, idk how to write angst lol, jumping on that 5 times x did y thing because i'm a sucker, primarily fluff though if i'm being honest, there's minor appearances of the other characters but this focuses on shiro & allura, this takes place sometime within s2 probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 15:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12560936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscurio/pseuds/obscurio
Summary: The five times Shiro and Allura trade kisses for words they’re too scared to say.





	Walking on Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> This work is un-beta'd. If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I apologize in advance!

Their latest battle, although a victory, left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Paladins. Innocent lives had been lost during the skirmish against a Galra outpost today. They all understood that death was a consequence of war, but watching civilians, people who had no way of defending themselves, fall at the hands of the Galra left everyone reeling. Some more than others.

“What were you thinking, Shiro?” Allura’s voice cracks midsentence as she steps into the Black Lion’s hangar, meeting him halfway as he steps out of the mechanical feline.

“I was doing what I thought I could,” Shiro retorts, voice raw with emotion. The guilt was eating him alive, and he hadn’t wanted Allura to witness his inevitable breakdown. So many lives could have been saved had he done differently.

“I understand that more than anyone, Shiro,” opalescent eyes, large and swimming with unshed tears, peer up at him with concern. “Everyone out there knows the risks, and yet they continue to fight towards a better future for their precious people. Don’t let their sacrifices be in vain. Without you, there is no Voltron, and no Voltron means there’s no hope for the universe.”

“My life shouldn’t have more worth than others,” Shiro murmurs, eyes glistening under the fluorescent light. Sucking in a sobering breath, his face changes into the familiar mask of composure. “I’m sorry, Princess, it won’t happen again.”

Biting down onto the soft flesh of her bottom lip, Allura’s hand moves before she can think them to. Her fingers curl at the nape of Shiro’s neck, drawing him closer so that she could kiss him. She’s always hated how he held her at arm’s length, or whenever he puts distance between them out of duty and respect. She yearns to pull him closer, to press the length of her body against his. She selfishly wishes to feel security in the cradle of his arms when everything was too much, and desires to be the safe harbor he sorely needs in moments of weakness.

He’s frozen against her but, soon enough, he melts under the ghosting of her lips. Answering in kind, his hands find a place upon her hips, pulling her so close that Allura wasn’t sure where he ended and where she began.

And as they pull away, foreheads pressed against each other, their breath intermingling, Allura speaks, albeit breathlessly, “Please don’t do that ever again, Shiro. Please, let me keep you safe.”

 

+

 

The Castle of Lion’s night cycle shifted into the wee hours of twilight, where the solar star rose betwixt billowing clouds of stardust and asteroid particles. Like routine, Allura woke just as light shone through the slivers of space between her gossamer curtains, enveloping all it touched with an ethereal glow. She tries to shift onto her side, only to find herself entrapped between her bed and a heavy, yet warm, weight across her waist. Allura turns her head the other way, greeted by the sight of Shiro slumbering peacefully beside her.

Shiro looked so _young_ and vulnerable as he slept—all the worries he ever had seem to disappear while dreaming. She smoothed the furrow of his brow with a gentle brush of her hand, tracing the slanted line of his brow down to the curve of his jaw. Her lips twitch at the corners as he unconsciously reacted to her gentle ministrations. His mouth parts under her thumb as she caresses the soft skin of his bottom lip. A sigh slips from between his lips, followed by the soft murmuring of her name. The way he slurs her name in his lethargic state forces her heart to skip a beat. She never thought her name was anything special, there were perhaps thousands of Allura’s back on Altea, but the way he utters it makes it sound like it's the most precious thing in the world.

Where her fingertips once were, her lips soon follow: a peck to the crest of his forehead, two upon the dark smudges under his eyes, peppering a line of butterfly kisses from his cheek down to the corner of his mouth. As she covers his face in kisses, he wakes under them, returning every kiss she gave him until their lips meet.

They lay there, swathed in wayward sheets and a sweet embrace, a comfortable silence between them as they trade kisses for words they’re too scared to say.

Shiro hums in contentment, face pressed into her hair. His lips soon find the column of her neck, where he drops a kiss upon the skin there, “Good morning, Princess.”

 

+

 

This was a covert operation, Shiro had said. Simply gather information, do not engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. It sounded easy enough, what could possibly go wrong?

_Everything_ , apparently.

It had been just them two along with Pidge who supported them from the room they acquired. The outpost was quiet, almost _too_ quiet, and their arrogance was perhaps what blinded them to the Galra’s true intentions.

“Get out!” Pidge trills through audio transmission, their voice fluctuating in volume as static interrupts them every few seconds. “—trap!”

“Pidge, come in?” Allura stops midstride to communicate with them. “Pidge? Do you copy?”

Static was all that could be heard before radio silence settles in. She turns and shares a worried glance with Shiro who moved to stand beside her, keying in for the others, but was also met with no reply.

“We should go back,” Allura says, one foot out of the room they slipped into earlier to avoid sentries. “Pidge said this was a trap, and I personally don’t want to find out what kind it is.”

“You’re right,” Shiro nods, sticking his head out of the room to check if the coast was clear of sentries before retracing their steps back to the extraction point.

As they cross the main hub and enter the bridge, a blast from below causes the ship to tremble beneath their feet, knocking them sideways and into each other. Despite the panic thrumming in her veins, Allura attempts to remain calm and collected as she uses the wall as leverage to stand. Rushing to Shiro’s side, she places a hand to the small of his back, hurrying him along towards their exist just past the bridge. But another blast echoes behind them, filling the hallway with heat from the blowout which sends them flying. Shiro breaks their fall by twisting his body in a surprising display of dexterity, taking the brunt of the impact of their fall.

A voice overhead barks commands, and the heavy footfalls of sentries draw closer to where they were positioned. Getting up, Shiro winds an arm around Allura’s waist, holding her to him while ducking under his shield as they cross the hallway to avoid heavy fire.

“Shiro? Allura? Do you guys copy?” Pidge’s voice speaks through the radio.

“Yes, Pidge!” Allura responds immediately, relieved to have regained communication with them.

“I’ve secured your positions! I’m coming for you guys in four dobashes. This whole place is rigged to blow!”

“You heard them, Princess, we gotta move!”

Following close behind, Allura’s suddenly dragged backward, a stray sentry having encircled its hand around her ankle. Breaking her fall with her arms, she throws a well-aimed kick at the android, and just as she set herself free, another attempts to hold her prisoner.

“Princess!” Shiro bellows from across the room, fighting his way towards her, using his shield as leverage to spring enemies away.

“Twenty ticks!” The Green Lion comes into view behind the glass paneling of the main deck. Suddenly, the room trembles under the impact of the Lion’s forced entry. “Get in!”

Grabbing the arm of a charging robot, Allura uses its momentum and slams it into another group of foot soldiers. Using their confusion to her advantage, she runs toward the Green Lion with Shiro close behind her.

“I’ll hold them off,” he says, his right arm enveloped in a familiar violet glow. His strikes are quick and precise, cutting down one enemy after another, and yet, barely managing to thin them out for a clean getaway. Allura squeezes into the mouth of the Lion, and as she turns to help Shiro, she’s surprised by the distance he puts between them. She could only watch helplessly as explosions continue to ricochet behind him as he kept the sentries at bay. “We’re even now, Princess.”

“Shiro!” Allura cries out, the Lion's mouth closing around her as Pidge kicks the fine machinery into gear, propelling forward into space to avoid being caught in the outbreak.

Crawling into the cockpit of the mechanical feline, Allura holds herself up by leaning heavily against the pilot’s chair. From her peripheral vision, she spies a dark mass hurtling towards them. Stricken with fear, Allura was in the midst of warning the Green Paladin, when a holo-audio transmission appears beside them, stopping her.

“Good job out there Pidge, see you back at the Castle,” the Black Lion stays the same course as they do, until nosediving out of sight, flying into the castleship’s hangar.

Back inside the safety of the Castle, the Paladins steer clear of Allura when they see the firm line of her lips and the stiffness of her spine. Shiro makes his way onto the bridge moments later, receiving praises from Hunk, and a slap on the back from Coran who commends the strength of his bond with the Black Lion. As he turns to face the Princess, he’s met with a glare that any lesser person would have perished from. Whatever he wanted to say to her then died in the back of his throat.

Hours later, when the night cycle is underway, Shiro visits her quarters with trepidation. He raps his knuckles against the door in a familiar rhythm, and only enters when granted permission. Stepping into her room, Shiro catches her sitting at her vanity, in the midst of letting her hair down. Expelling a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding in, he approaches her with caution.

“Princess—” he starts, an apology on the tip of his tongue. But before he can beg forgiveness for causing her any worry, Allura’s on her feet, quickly closing the distance between them. Suddenly she’s in front of him, eyes glistening with unshed tears and anger. With her hands clinging to the collar of his shirt, she pulls him down to her eye level, their lips colliding painfully.

Their movements frantic and desperate. His arms which hang motionless at his sides find their place upon her hip and along the expanse of her upper back, tangling into her hair. Her hands leave a trail of fire in their wake as they glide up from his chest to the nape of his neck, fingers interlocked there as she drapes her arms upon his shoulders.

Allura pulls away once the domineering kiss turns into an apologetic one, and any scorn she had felt prior simply fizzled out of existence. She puts distance between them, pulling tufts of starlight onto one side before turning back to pierce Shiro with a solemn gaze, “Don’t you dare make me leave you behind _ever_ again, Shiro. I can’t lose you, not after losing everyone else. I just…I just can’t, Shiro.”

She slumps atop her bed, a faraway look on her face that Shiro can’t bear to see. Occupying the space beside her, he takes her into his arms, pressing his face into her hair and breathing in deeply.

“I promise, Princess.”

 

+

 

Somehow they managed to find a planet, within two galaxies of Taujeer, that closely resembles Earth. After much deliberation, a break was unanimously agreed upon. With the castleship not too far, the group ventured onto unfamiliar territory with eyes full of wonder. There was a break in the foliage that lead to a vast expanse of pale flat land and, far beyond it, a large body of water.

“Holy crow!” Lance hoots, kicking off his shoes. He expels a contented sigh whilst digging his toes into the grainy terrain. “Oh man, this is totally making me miss home.”

“What exactly is this place?” Allura inquires, looking at each of the Paladins for an explanation.

“On Earth, this is what you would call a beach,” Shiro explains as the younger Paladins follow Lance’s example, stepping out of their shoes and jogging towards the shoreline. “It’s a popular destination for humans seeking relaxation.”

“Oh,” was all Allura could muster, far too distracted by the excited cries of Hunk and Lance as they pulled Keith down under a wave about to break shore. “They look like they’re having fun.”

“They do, don’t they?” Coran chuckles from behind them. “Why don’t you join them, Princess? I’ll go back to the Castle and prepare lunch for us all.”

“I’ll make sure she enjoys herself, Coran,” Shiro answers for her, hand at the small of her back as he leads her towards where the rest have gathered.

They spend the entirety of their afternoon playing in the water, burying Coran in the sand once he returned, and building something resembling a castle off of the mound ochre haired Altean was entrapped in. All in all, taking a break had been a wonderful idea. Allura couldn’t remember the last time she felt young, let alone free. Zarkon was the last thing on her mind then.

After swimming a lap in the ocean to cool down his heated skin, Shiro settles down beside her. With his hair plastered to his face, and his forelock sticking up at an awkward angle, the image Shiro created was one that reminded Allura of a drowned mouse.

“You look like Platt after a washing,” she laughs.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Shiro huffs half-heartedly, shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water clinging to him.

“Oh, however will I make it up to you?” Allura teases, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“I can think of a number of ways, Princess,” Shiro drawls, brushing his nose against hers.

And just as their lips were about to touch, they were interrupted by a cackle not too far from them. Jerking away from each other, matching guilty looks on their faces, they peer up at Pidge whose arms were crossed over their chest, a sly grin on their youthful face.

“I _saw_ that!”

 

+

 

“This is it guys,” Shiro says down in the lounge, the other Paladins surrounding him. “We’re striking the heart of the Galra Empire. Today, we’re taking down Zarkon. For good.”

The group of teenagers look at one another, used to the pep talks of their leader, but continue listening with solemn faces.

“We started off as a pretty small team, barely managing to work together to form Voltron,” the Black Paladin continues, arms crossed over his chest as he walks to and fro, meeting each of the other Paladin’s gazes. “But now we have allies: people who are willing to help us put an end to Zarkon’s tyranny. An end to this war. Lives were lost for our cause, so let’s not let their sacrifices be in vain. Today, we fight for freedom, to free the known Universe, and restore peace to its people.”

With a jerk of his head towards the doors, Shiro dismisses them, allowing them respite before the mission finally commences.

“That was a wonderful speech, Shiro,” a voice speaks to the left of him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“You think so?” He asks sheepishly for having been caught off guard.

“It was simple, but inspiring,” Allura replies, occupying the space beside him. “Listen I have something I wish to say—”

“Allura,” Shiro interrupts, startling her. She could count on one hand the number of times he’s called her by name: they were either if she were in danger, or if what he would say next was of utmost importance. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Shiro,” Allura answers his confession with one of her own. For so long they’ve danced around each other, their kisses replacing the words they were too scared to say aloud. “I wish I had told you sooner, but there was never a right time.”

“We can’t change the past,” Shiro quiets her discontent by circling his arms around her shoulders, enclosing her into the warmth of his embrace. She always felt small in the cradle of his arms, small yet safe. “We can always look forward to the future. We have a lifetime to make up for it.”

“You have to come back to me, Shiro,” Allura murmurs into his chest. “Promise me.”

“I promise, Allura,” he says with conviction, leaving her no room to doubt him. “I’ll come back to you.”

They lean towards one another with the practiced ease of lovers until they’re nose to nose, their breaths intermingling. Opalescent eyes reminiscent of the heavenly empyrean of Earth’s skies meets his dark gaze, which was liken to falling into an abyss—and fall she does.

Their lips gravitate towards one another, like a moon to its planet. When they touch, it’s as if a part of themselves that had been missing finally falls back into place. They move in perfect harmony, like a pair dancers swaying in sync with music only they can hear. When Shiro shifts, Allura follows.

Moments later, they rest their foreheads against one another, their lips, bruised from the intensity of their kiss, continue to stay within close proximity.

“I have to go,” Shiro whispers hoarsely, making no move to stand.

“As do I,” Allura mutters remorsefully.

Leaving him so they could play their parts in the war was perhaps the hardest thing she’d ever done. As she stands to return to the main deck, his fingers encircle her wrist, tugging her towards him until her back was pressed against his chest. She holds her breath, basking in the warmth he radiated.

“I know you’ll come back to me. You've never broken a promise,” Allura says with confidence, turning to face him one last time. “I’ll see you on the other side, my Paladin.”

**Author's Note:**

> These vignettes were inspired by a conversation I had with a bunch of people over who would kiss who first, and from there, we went to what types of kisses would ensue. Thanks for always being a fountain of inspiration guys ♡


End file.
